aru shah fan fiction

assassins au: fifteen p. i

"You gotta try a little harder than that, Shah."

Aru scowled, rubbing the side of her now-sore thigh from falling into a heap on the grimy training floor. She glared up at the smug tall boy standing before her, the twinkle in his eyes both equally irritating and endearing. "Is this your way of egging me on?" she asked.

"Yes."

Aru's felt the tug of a smirk pull at her lips. "Alright, Acharya, you asked for it."

It was a move she'd executed a countless number of times, but it never failed to rush her with a euphoric, heady adrenaline. Aru charged ahead with her sword brandished, watching its silver steel catch the light in a moment of sharp captivation. She swung the weapon in an arc toward Aiden, face twisting in concentration when his scimitar met her blade with little opposition. He caught her hilt in his own, attempting to disarm her, but Aru was too experienced to fall for such a trick. She tossed her sword into the air and jabbed her fist into Aiden's side, sending him to the ground. Should've protected your left, Acharya, Aru thought with glee. Her sword fell perfectly back into her grip from the air as she extended her arm out, the point of her brand centimeters away from Aiden's neck.

"Do you accept defeat now?" grinned Aru as she clutched Aiden's hand, hoisting him up from the earth. She could feel her face beaming with victory.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he grumbled, but Aru didn't miss the twitch of his barely-contained smile. "I only let you win that time-I was feeling bad about beating you earlier."

"That's a funny joke."

Aiden snorted, shaking his head. He gestured toward a nearby bench, a water fountain stationed right beside it. "Wanna take a break?"

Aru was more than happy to oblige, sighing as she plopped down on the hard wood surface. She leaned her head against the backrest as she closed her eyes, embracing the warm rays of the sun shining on her face. It did nothing to ease her sweat, but it pulled the tension away from her muscles, allowing Aru a fleeting moment of rest. She felt the bench shift as Aiden took a seat beside her. Aru felt his gaze on her but she chose to ignore it, stubbornly keeping her eyes shut.

Neither of them spoke a word, but nothing needed to be said. Aru was content with the silence, reveling in the rarity of a quiet moment. Life moved by way too quickly. Oftentimes, Aru felt the need to say, "SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE MOVING WAY TOO FAST!" to Time, but Time did this annoying thing where it didn't listen to her, so every day passed by in a blink of an eye. Aru supposed it was a con of having goals in life; there was never enough time to finish anything.

She opened her eyes, glancing over at Aiden. He, too, seemed lost in thought, staring blankly at a bug crawling across the floor.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Aru, angling her body to face him.

He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Nothing very important."

"I don't even know why you lie to me at this point, Aiden," Aru said, staring at him pointedly. "You don't have to share with me, but something's clearly bothering you."

"I'm just worried about the fighting," he began, sighing. Aru watched as he shoved his hair away from his eyes, only for it to flop back into place. "Adadha is a kingdom that's been shaped by war. No one can deny that war is our history, and there's not much else to it. If we lose, which is definitely likely after how large Tavasth has grown, where does that leave our families? But if we win, what happens after? Instructor Jinn is always telling us how civilizations are inevitably affected by war, even if they emerge victorious. Lives are lost, and entire communities are never rebuilt. I don't want that to happen to us, especially when so many families and children live here."